Tobias Buß (40) is on the corona ward of the Giessen University Clinic (Hesse). He’s got a chuckling oxygen tube in his nose and got through the worst.
But three weeks ago Corona almost cost him his life! Buß wasn’t vaccinated. The family man and insurance specialist had to go into an artificial coma in the intensive care unit and hung on the heart-lung machine (ECMO) for four days – the very last resort in the fight against the killer virus.
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How close it was is shown by a look at the bed next to him. There, too: a non-vaccinated corona patient (38). He is still in a coma and has been on the heart-lung machine for four weeks. And the doctors say: “Unfortunately he won’t be able to do it.”
Tobias Buß and the terminally ill person in the neighboring bed are two of currently 2941 mostly unvaccinated corona patients in Germany’s intensive care units (as of Saturday). In the meantime, Buss can speak again. His dramatic appeal from the hospital bed: “Everyone should get vaccinated. Immediately. It is extremely stupid not to do it. “
When Bild visited him in the intensive care unit on Sunday, he was annoyed: “I have a guilty conscience because as an unvaccinated person I am going to bed here.” and no vaccination opponent (“I have all common vaccinations”).
But then why didn’t he get the spades against Corona? “Somehow, I thought the virus couldn’t do anything to me. I put off vaccinating. ”Some of his friends criticized him for this. But there was no argument.
“The fact is, my wife, my daughter and I caught the virus somewhere. But only I got seriously ill. ”On the afternoon of October 23rd, he was crouched on the couch at home. “I was scared, couldn’t breathe, tortured myself like a fish out of water.”
His wife dialed 911. The family man was ventilated. When that was no longer enough, he got the heart-lung machine. She pumped blood out of his body, oxygenated it, and pumped it back again.
“His condition was acutely life-threatening,” says Vice Clinic Director Dr. Khodr Tello (39). “His chance of survival was between 30 and 50 percent. That would not have happened with a vaccination. “
The doctor shows Bild am Sonntag the x-rays of his patient. You can see: Corona covered his lungs like a white veil.
Tobias Buß woke up from his coma a week ago. But he still has no strength to get up. “At first I just lay there and concentrated on breathing. In the meantime I sat down on the edge of the bed. More was not possible yet. “
On Thursday he phoned his wife again for the first time: “That was very emotional. I told her that it was a tight squeeze, that I love her and I am looking forward to seeing her so much. “
Buß is coming to rehab for four weeks soon. Then it will show whether he is getting really fit again or whether he is permanently suffering from Long Covid disease. Only one thing is certain for him: as soon as he can get himself vaccinated, he wants to do it.
Why did you get vaccinated only now?
Many people in Germany wanted to be vaccinated as early as possible. Others hesitated, but have now got their first spades. Bild am Sonntag met three citizens who received their first vaccination this week in a DRK vaccination station in Leipzig’s main train station.
Kathleen Rückemann (28)Photo: Alexander Schumann
▶ ︎ Service agent Kathleen Rückemann (28): “I’m 7 months pregnant, so I was careful. When the Stiko made the recommendation, I knew that I would be vaccinated before giving birth. “
Peter Spangenberg (19) Photo: Alexander Schumann
▶ ︎ Banker Peter Spangenberg (19): “I like going to bars and clubs – so far, tests have been enough. But now with 2-G you have no choice but to get vaccinated. “
Ela Kalkan (37)Photo: Alexander Schumann
▶ ︎ Student Ela Kalkan (37): “I finally want to travel freely again! I had to spend more than 200 euros for PCR tests in order to be able to fly to Turkey. “